New York-based trumpeter and former University of Denver student Nate Wooley is letting the creative music world know how important one-time mentor and respected Denver educator and artist Ron Miles is to him and his work.
Wooley has just released a complex and deeply listenable new album, “Argonautica” (Firehouse 12 Records) that utilizes Miles’ own beautifully introspective style (on cornet) to serve as a foil to Wooley’s own more slightly aggressive approach.
“Argonautica” consists of a single 43-minute track, but its numerous shifts in mood and texture combine to tell an epic tale. Wooley and Miles navigate all sorts of terrain, including impressionistic, electronics-drenched atmospheres and forward-leaning free bop. Itap one of the most energized jazz-informed recordings in a year where more artists are creating music that fuses improvisation with contemporary compositional settings that extend beyond more formal boundaries of the music.
What really makes “Argonautica” work, though, is the virtuosity of Wooley’s and Miles’ voices, as they react to one another on a higher plane. This group sounds like a well-acquainted working band, and former Denverite Rudy Royston helps propel the music forward. Wooley’s recent work (including the simultaneously released, gloriously drone-y “Seven Storey Mountain V”) proves he is a thinker and player to contend with. Itap meaningful that he called upon one of his most profound teachers to join him for part of his journey.
Pianist Matt Savage has his own story to tell through his music. Diagnosed on the autism spectrum at an early age, Savage went through intensive therapies and even though he’s only 24, has released numerous albums under his own name. His skills on the instrument are undeniable, and he serves as an inspiration to many individuals and families who have been touched by autism. Savage is playing two sets at Dazzle Jazz on July 24 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be obtained through dazzlejazz.com.
SuperCollider appears with special guest Erik Deutsch in what promises to be one of the more exciting City Park Jazz performances of the season, for free, on July 24. … Trumpeter Chris Botti and violinist Joshua Bell team up with the Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks on July 24 as well. … Trumpeter and vocalist Bria Skonberg, who shows a deep respect for classic jazz, is slated for two nights at Dazzle, July 28-29 … Singer Madeleine Peyroux appears at the L2 Church on July 28. … The Jeff Nathanson Quintet presents “To Dream Of Jobim” at the Nocturne Jazz & Supper Club on July 29. … This year’s Telluride Jazz lineup is a good one, with guest of honor Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Marcus Miller, Galactic, longtime Telluride favorite John Scofield on guitar, Kermit Ruffins, the Rebirth Brass Band and plenty more, at various locales throughout the town August 5-7. Get information at telluridejazz.org.
